I spent the morning attaching the suction cup camera mount to different spots of the car, trying to decide just how I wanted to film during the ride. I also discovered Strava. I've heard all about it, but never got on the website to investigate. So if you don't ride/run a lot, you probably don't know what Strava is. It's a website that allows you to upload your rides/runs, keep track of your totals and even compete against other users on your favorite routes. You can mark off "segments" of your ride and Strava will calculate everyone that has ridden that segment and rank the times. It's like racing your friends on the days when you can't ride together. You get awarded the KOM (King of the Mountain - most segments are climbs) if you are the fastest. I found a segment nearby and decided to alter my ride route for the day to make an attempt at the KOM.
My ride started too fast. I think I was a little overexcited about having Shannon tailing me in the car with a camera on the hood. We went through some of the area's best backroads north of our house, crossing over into Kentucky for the last part of the ride. I rode pretty hard for the first part, eventually getting behind the car and drafting. Shannon was driving like a maniac down some of the hills and making me work harder going down than up!
Blowing past an old barn while rounding a fast turn
Tractors were the worst traffic on this road
climbing
descending
I was gassed by the time we made it to the Strava segment near the town of Cedar Hill. It's a long, fairly gradual climb with a long false flat after the crest. I was hurting as I started up the hill. I motioned for Shannon to leave me so I wouldn't cheat with the draft. I had a killer headwind the whole way and knew that I wasn't going to get the KOM, but I gave it what I had and at least took 3rd best time up the climb.
After the Strava segment, I hit a few more climbs on our way up to the Kentucky line, where the road flattens out and we could do some serious drafting. I tired quickly and struggled to maintain a good pace. The wind was stiff and coming from the side, making it near impossible to draft. I was riding next to the car rather than behind it. I tried for a sprint at one point, passing by the car. The wind hit me like a punch in the face once I cleared the car, nearly blowing my front wheel right out from under me. It scared me a little and I was a bit more cautious the rest of the ride.
Drafting the car for some high-intensity training
I was drained a bit earlier than I had hoped. The bad legs were getting better, but still not back to normal yet. We ended the ride early with a section of gravel road. The gravels were big and deep, making for a rougher ride than I expected. I had ridden through there before when the gravel was much thinner and the dirt was showing through. It seemed like an appropriate day to ride gravels with it being just one day until the Queen of the Classic, Paris-Roubaix, was to be held in Europe. The gravels made me work really hard, getting in a little bit more training on my tired legs.
Mmmm gravel...
Gravel road through the woods. Roads don't get much more fun than this!
Here's a bit of the video we shot during our fun afternoon of road riding.
I got up on Sunday feeling like a wimp for considering not doing the race. It seemed dumb to pass on a race so close when I needed more race experience before the big crits come later this month. So I went out for a morning ride with Shannon to loosen up the legs. I was tired, but not as much as expected.
I decided to just go for it and do the Cedar Hill Criterium. It was a just a Cedar Hill kind of weekend. This race is nowhere near the town of Cedar Hill, but rather close to Nashville in a smaller town on the north side called Madison. It was a loop around Cedar Hill Park, a place that has hosted a crit. before and multiple cyclocross events including the Keep Calm and Race Cross event last year.
The course was 1.6 miles in length. We started on a gradual downhill to the first of two turns on the course. Both turns are 90-degree right turns. After turn 1, it's a flat stretch across a dam before a short climb and descent that leads to the second turn. It's uphill right out of turn 2, followed by a long false flat and another small climb on the back stretch. Then came a very fast descent before one final climb. The sprint was a gradual downhill. The course was completely closed to traffic so we had a nice, wide course to race on.
Coure Map per my Garmin 310
In my warm up, I went into one of nearby neighborhoods to try a Strava segment. I know, I'm officially obsessed already! Well it paid off. I found out I had good legs and also took the KOM!
Pro/1/2/3 Women on the start line...and a guy walking around with a unicorn mask.
Pro/1/2/3 Women underway
I started on the back row of the race. I was expecting small turnout, but we had 54 riders in the Pro/1/2/3. I felt awesome right away, easing my way up every time the group slowed down. I usually have trouble holding the pace out of turns and up hills, but I never was put into difficulty in this race. I missed the break of four that got away halfway through. I was too far back and too scared to try a break with that much time left. I know I'm not super strong at 30+ mph. Texas Roadhouse had a full team there and they were keeping the pace high. But they had a rider in the break, and then sent another across the gap. I was blocked in and missed the chance to go across with him. Now there were five up front, with two being Texas Roadhouse and one Cumberland Transit, a team that also has many fast riders on their roster.
Pro/1/2/3 Men on the line
Off we go for 60 minutes of racing
Me in the middle of the group
The group strung out down the finish hill
Attacks came from everywhere
Andy Reardon tries to get a break going
The initial five breaking away
The following lap, another rider tried to bridge the 15 second gap. I was again blocked, but then a hole opened up and I went for it. I had a good acceleration, but couldn't make it across the gap on such a windy day. The group reeled me back in on the fast descent, then caught the other attacking rider before sitting up. Normally, the Friends of the Great Smokey Mountains team wants in every break and works hard to set their team up. They had missed the break, so I was hoping they would be my ally in getting across. The gap remained at 15 seconds to the break, but nobody would pull in the group. Finally, I realized I wasn't getting much of a workout and so I went to the front, hoping FGSM would give me a hand in the workload. But nobody would pull through after my turn. Then I just got mad and pulled my guts out for 2 laps. I actually closed down the gap, but I couldn't hold that pace and had to back off, just in time for them to ring the bell for a $100 prime lap. What bad timing I have.
The five that stayed away
The field was not interested in chasing
The following lap we went to 3 laps to go in the 60 minute race. I was hurting on the prime lap as the pace shot up dramatically. I recovered quickly though and was back at the front with 2 to go. The break was at 25 seconds now. We surely wouldn't see them again, so it was now time to focus on the sprint. With the downhill near the finish it seemed like good practice for Anniston. The downhills make for a bunching effect in the group which is usually followed by a big surge where some of the middle of the pack completely overtakes and blocks in the guys up front. I suck at those kind of finishes as I always seem to find myself blocked in. I was in the top 10 as we hit the downhill for the final time. I worked hard the bottom to pass guys who were blowing. I even hit 42.9 mph in crossing a small gap to stay near the Texas Roadhouse leadout train. I got a run in the draft a bit too early and backed off. That was a mistake as the surge came up on the left. I lost many spots and then got blocked in the rest of the sprint, not even getting enough room to stand up and sprint all out. I wedged myself through the group though, grabbing a few spots including two right on the line. I wound up 13th place.
I was a little disappointed with the final placing, but not disappointed at the same time. For the first time, I was helping control the pace in a Pro/1/2 event. And this all came on a day after doing 2 1/2 hours behind the car pacing. Finally, I seem to be coming around. The race was fast despite the wind. I hit 187 max heart rate during my attack to try to bridge the gap. Average speed was a fast 25.9 mph for just over 58 minutes.
I had the GoPro on my stem so you can see highlights from my point of view below, followed by a video of the sprint finish.
Handlebar Cam Highlights Video
Pro/1/2/3 Men Finish Clip
Work has been a bit overwhelming with sheer volume of patients lately, but I have also had some fun. I've mentioned glute assessments here several times, but now I'm venturing more into running and cycling mechanical assessments, looking at the mechanics of the athlete in motion. I actually got paid to ride my bike last week when I went out for a ride with a patient. We did 8 miles at various speeds to examine how her position changes with different levels of effort. I even went so far as to get video from in front of her by attaching the GoPro to my seatpost and then had her draft me so we could see head-on how her knees and pelvis were positioned. I'm considering getting more into the mechanical side of things, maybe even working with some local runners and cyclists. It's an area that has really interested me lately. I get to use my therapy knowledge and combine it with my athletic knowledge.
Last weekend was a bit of an off-weekend due to Shannon and I having to attend a course for work. It was a great course, teaching us different methods of kinesiotaping. It's the tape you have probably seen on volleyball and basketball players on TV. The class taught me new ideas for use at work, but also gave me ideas for using this on myself with training and racing.
We got out of the class early enough one day to go for a ride doing headcase intervals. Those intervals really suck. You do 15 seconds of seated sprinting, then totally stop pedaling for 15 seconds. You repeat as many times as you can, or until you get to 30 minutes. It sort of feels like a race. In racing you hammer out of a turn, then coast in the group through a turn, then sprint again. Over and over and over.
Tomorrow we are off to Anniston for the first really big crit. of the year. We decided to stay for Sunday's Foothills Classic Road Race in Piedmont as well. I'm hoping for good legs as I think I can do well at both of these races. We shall see tomorrow!
You can watch the Sunny King Criterium live all day tomorrow at http://sunnykingcriterium.com/ and on VeloNews. Coverage starts at 12:00 CDT. I race at 3:50 in the Cat. 2 event. Watch it if you can! I'll try to make it worth your while.
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